When Two Become One Marriage Preparation Course
“Marriage preparation constitutes a providential and favourable period for those oriented toward this Christian sacrament… They are invited to understand the meaning of the responsible and mature love of that community of life and love which their family will be.” (Preparation for the Sacrament of Marriage, Pontifical Council for Marriage and the Family)
The period leading up to a marriage is a busy, exciting and often stressful time. While your engagement, wedding preparations, reception and honeymoon are all important, the marriage ceremony – the gift of your promise to one another - is at the centre of the Christian celebration. Whilst your wedding day will be long remembered and cherished, your marriage - the daily reality of living out that promise - will continue long after the last piece of cake is eaten.
Preparation for marriage involves a process of discernment. It should be an affirming experience, as you and your fiancé develop a deeper understanding of one another and your readiness to enter married life.
Marriage in the Catholic tradition is a covenant – a sacred vow which, like God’s promise of love to us, can never be broken. From the beginning, God created man and woman to be joined as a sign of His love both to each another and to the world.
In the Catholic Church, Marriage is one of seven Sacraments - a sacred signs that presents to the world a deeper spiritual reality. A man and woman in marriage reveal the full, free, faithful and fruitful love that Jesus Christ has for each of us.
Couples are asked to give at least six months notice to the officiating priest or deacon. One month’s notice is obligatory by law, but the longer notice requested here allows for a calm and serious preparation for marriage.
Couples are counselled by the priest before marriage and are asked to attend a marriage preparation course. (See “When Two Become One” Marriage Preparation Course information below).
Sometimes people who have not been to Church for a while can be apprehensive about approaching the Church for a wedding. Since marriage can be a time of rediscovering one's faith and making a new start, you should not hesitate to discuss your situation with the priest.
When you wish to be married in the Catholic Church, you need to provide the priest with the following documents:
A Pre Nuptial Enquiry Form can be completed as early as eighteen months before the wedding but at a minimum, must be signed at least one month prior to the wedding day. This form is available from the priest.
Each will also need to present the following documents:
Birth Certificate - Available from Registrar of Births & Deaths
Baptism Certificate - This must have been issued in the past six months and is available from the parish where you were baptised. Send the parish your full name, estimated date of baptism and a stamped self-addressed envelope.
If either party has been married before:
The Death certificate of their former spouse
OR
A Decree of Nullity (from the Catholic Marriage Tribunal)
AND
Civil Divorce Decree
A mixed marriage is where one party is a Catholic and the other party is not a Catholic, whether baptised or not. A Catholic, even when entering a mixed marriage must be married before a Catholic priest.
Permission can be given for a Catholic to marry one who is not Catholic provided that the Catholic promises to safeguard his/her own Catholic faith and to do all in his/her power to have the children of their marriage baptised and raised as Catholic.
The partner who is not a Catholic, though not required to make a promise must be properly informed before the wedding of the obligations and expectations the Church has of their Catholic spouse.
Since the celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage has an important religious meaning it is normally celebrated in the Catholic Church.
Where one of the partners is not a Catholic and has a strong connection to his or her own Church, the Bishop may give permission (known as a dispensation) for the marriage to take place in the other Church.
Any Catholic wishing to be married in a place other than a Catholic Church needs to make a request to the Archbishop. This can be done through your priest. Dispensations to be married outside a Church are not common.
This two day course, designed for couples approaching marriage in the Catholic Church, features a number of guest speakers, including married couples. Sessions include:
The cost for the course is $240 per couple. This includes all course materials as well as lunch, morning and afternoon tea. Full payment is made upon registration.
To register, contact us at the Life, Marriage and Family Office.
Why marriage can only be between a man and woman. -Bishop Joseph Kurtz
Marriage is not something we invent or change to suit our own purposes…
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